Daycare Worker Drugged Children to Run Personal Errands

A daycare worker has been sentenced to 21-years in prison after authorities found she had been giving the children in her care a sleep-aid so that she could run personal errands.

32-year-old January Neatherlin pleaded guilty to 11 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and one count of third-degree assault, according to Oregon court records on Friday.

According to the report, authorities were alerted to Neatherlin’s activities by her former boyfriend and roommate, who told them the 32-year- old would give the children Melatonin so she could go tanning and to the gym while they slept.

When detectives investigated Neatherlin, the found that she left the home twice despite having seven children in her care at the time. The first time she left the home she brought her two children to school, and the second time she went to a tanning salon.

The children were taken to a local hospital for an evaluation where doctors found Melatonin in their system.

Authorities also found that Neatherlin had a rule for parents stating that they could not pick up their children between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. which she told them was their nap time, but in reality, those where the hours she used to run her errands.

Neatherlin was also found to have been running an illegal daycare service for four years and lied to the parents about being a registered nurse.